The Climb
by zvforever
Summary: ONESHOT Gabriella's been having trouble with school, but Troy shows her that it's not about the success, it's about the climb. TxG R&R! Rated T for safety


**A/N: I've been working on my CR story, and I've been trying to keep writing my HSM stories. Hopefully, I'll have those updated soon! This is just a oneshot I wrote when I was at my grandparents' the other day. So, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or "The Climb."**

_The Climb_

It was like any other December day at East High School. Free period consisted of the boys basketball team practicing, the drama club prepping the stage for the winter musical, and the scholastic decathlon team practicing for their next competition. The group of ten friends was separated, but were looking forward to lunch where they could all discuss the days activities. But for now, they would all have to stick to whichever activity they were a part of.

While their boyfriends had practice, Gabriella and Taylor were doing chemistry problems to do in preparation for their next competition. On most days Gabriella would be the first one done, but today something off. While each person finished, Gabriella was still stuck on the third problem from the seven they were supposed to do.

When Taylor noticed this, she immediately asked, "Gabi, is everything all right?"

Gabriella was quickly brought out of her thoughts, "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"You're usually the first one done, but you're only on the third problem."

"Sorry, I didn't get enough sleep last night. I was up late studying for the Calc test."

Taylor saw right through the lie, but decided she wouldn't push it and would merely ask Troy about it later in the day. However, when they were leaving, Gabi's papers fell and her recent English test slipped from her bag. As Taylor was attempting to help Gabriella pick up the papers, she was surprised to see that instead of the usual 'A' Gabriella received, it was a 'C.' Taylor was about to ask Gabriella about it when Gabriella grabbed the test from the floor and ran out of the room.

After another two periods lunch finally arrived, and the ten members of the group went to their usual table in the center of the cafeteria. It wasn't a statement, it was just where they sat every day. Everyone knew that that was the gang's table, but no one judged them for sitting at the one in the middle of the cafeteria.

Everyone was at the table, but Gabriella hadn't arrived yet, and Taylor took this opportunity to speak to Troy. "Troy."

"Yeah, Tay? What's up?" he asked, smiling at her. She was his best friend's girlfriend and hi girlfriend's best friend after all. But she was still his friend as well, although not his closest.

"Have you noticed anything different about Gabriella lately?"

Troy furrowed his eyebrows and responded, "You've noticed it too?"

Taylor merely nodded and continued, "I'm really worried about her, Troy. She's not herself. She was the last one done at the scholastic decathlon practice today. Scratch that, she didn't even finish. Then, I saw her last English test, and she got a 'C.' She has never gotten a 'C' before in her life. Yet, she's been studying a lot lately, too much even. I think she's stressing herself out too much." By the time Taylor finished her explanation, Troy was deep in thought.

"You think she's worried about college? I mean she's as good as in Stanford, but maybe she just thinks she isn't. I don't know, maybe it's her mom? Whatever it is, we need to get it out of her."

Right when Troy finished his statement Gabriella approached the table and looked at Troy and Taylor skeptically. They merely smiled at her, and Troy motioned to the stairs with his eyes and Gabriella nodded while still eying him and Taylor.

Troy quickly got up and took Gabriella's hand as they headed for the stairs to get to the rooftop. As soon a they left, the group began discussing.

"Tay, what' up?" Chad asked worriedly. He knew that Troy and Taylor never spoke to each other with such serious faces unless there was something seriously wrong.

"It's Gabriella," as Taylor said that everyone paid even more attention, "we think she's stressing herself out too much because she's been completely distracted. She isn't getting the decathlon work and she's not acing her exams, which I think we all know is not like Gabriella."

Everyone quickly thought about this as Sharpay began to speak, "Is Troy going to try to talk to her about it?"

Taylor nodded as Kelsi spoke up, "That is so strange. Gabi's never like this. Come to think of it, she hasn't been getting her songs right either."

"And her dances, too," Ryan added.

"Let's hope Troy gets her a bit less stressed or at least an explanation out of her," Zeke said.

As the gang continued discussing the strangeness of Gabriella, Troy led her to the rooftop. When they arrived, he offered her one of Zeke's cookies, which she absolutely adored, but she declined. Troy looked at her strangely and asked, "Brie, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Gabriella quickly retaliated.

"Well, you decline Zeke's cookies, which are your favorites, you aren't getting the musical songs or dances, you're not getting the problems for the decathlon -," Troy began but was cut off by Gabriella.

"I've been really stressed with school," she quickly rebutted.

"Then how come you got a 'C' on your last English exam?" he asked to which Gabriella quickly looked down. Troy lifted her chin up with his finger and continued, "Brie, I just wanna know what's going on."

He saw the hurt fill through her eyes that he'd seen before one particular time at Lava Springs. The hurt that he couldn't stand to see in her eyes. It was the look of betrayal. "Troy, nothing's going on. Why does something have to be going on for me to be stressed?" she asked getting slightly agitated.

"It's just not like you, Gabriella."

"Why does everything always have to be the same for me?! Taylor screws up a dance, I don't see all of you questioning her."

"Gabi, I just don't want you to stress yourself out. I mean if you're worried about Stanford, you shouldn't be, you're as good as in."

"Not everything is about college, Troy," she said, the aggravation visible in her eyes.

"Then what is it, Gab? I want to understand what's going on. Why don't you want to tell me?" he asked, looking defeated, something that wasn't common with Troy Bolton.

"Troy-" she began as he took her hands in his.

"No, Brie, you have to tell me whats wrong," he begged.

Gabriella looked at him with anger and sadness in her eyes, "I can't talk about this right now." With that she freed her hands from his and rand down the stairs back towards the hallways of East High.

Troy stayed on the roof for the next five minutes, looking out at the view, thinking through the exchanged words from a mere two minutes ago.

When Gabriella stormed through the cafeteria with angry tears stinging her eyes, the gang immediately knew that the conversation didn't go as planned. Taylor stood to follow her, but Chad held her back, "Let her be, Tay. I have a feeling she doesn't want to be near anybody right now."

Taylor merely nodded and made a mental note to remember to talk to Gabriella during Calculus. What none of them knew, however, was that Gabriella ran not only out of the cafeteria, but also out the building.

Gabriella sat at her desk as the clock struck nine. She has gone home after her conversation with Troy. She knew that the gang would be worried, but she didn't care. As she studied her biology notes, Gabriella heard a knock on her balcony doors. She didn't even have to look up to know who it was. Troy was the only one who would ever enter through her balcony.

She somberly got up from her chair and opened the door for Troy. Once Troy saw the broken look in her eyes, he immediately enveloped Gabriella in a hug. Gabriela clung onto Troy as if her life depended on it while silent tears fell down her cheeks.

"Brie," Troy whispered as he held her and stroked her hair.

Gabriella looked up at him and led him to sit down on her bed.

"I haven't been off because I've been stressed. I've been off because I'm afraid," she said softly, looking down at her bed, afraid to look into Troy's eyes.

"Afraid of what, Brie?" Troy asked just as softly, trying to catch her eye.

"Of everything," she got up as she said this and started walking around her room, never looking at Troy though, "This just happens o me sometimes. I become afraid of the future and what'll happen. I become afraid that I won't get where I want to get and that I won't accomplish what I want to accomplish." By the time Gabriella finished, she was standing in front of a photograph hanging on her wall or the whole gang from the previous summer when they were at Lava Springs.

When troy heard her explanation he moved off the bed and walked towards her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. As he did so, Gabriella laid her head back against his chest. "Brie," he began, "there's always going to be some kind of fear or hesitation in all of u as we go after our dreams, but if it' something you really want, then you can't let it stop you from pursuing your dreams. You can't let your mind affect you negatively. Follow your heart, especially if you know what you want." Gabriella smiled at her boyfriend, but troy sensed that she was still uneasy about it all. He turned her around, so that she was facing him and took her hands in his, "Look, thin about this: let' say you don't get into Stanford, then what's the worst case scenario? You go to U of A? That's not the worst. Plus, I'm sure you'll get into Georgetown and Berkeley and Boston University, so you shouldn't be worried. Gabi, everyone's futures are undecided and the college they go to doesn't define them."

"Thank you," Gabriella said sincerely as she looked up into his eyes. "You really have no idea what kind of affect you have on me. You help me in ways you can't even imagine."

"Well, I'm glad. But, Gabi, do me a favor and get some rest tonight, please. And stop worrying so much," he said as he placed a stray hair behind her ear, "Please, baby."

Gabriella nodded with a oft smile on her face. Troy smiled back and then leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. "I love you, Gabriella. I hope you know that."

It was at times like these that she saw his true vulnerability and weakness. He really did love her, and she knew that. "I love you too, Troy, so much."

The shared another passionate kiss, and Troy then followed his usual routine of climbing down the tree next to her balcony. Gabriella watched him go with a smile on her face. After he waved to her on the corner of her street, Gabriella stayed true to her word and went to bed.

A week and a half had passed since Gabriella's down period, and it was December 31st. This year, the whole gang was getting together at Sharpay and Ryan's for a party. Everyone spent Christmas with their families, but wanted to spend New Year's Eve together. For troy and Gabriella, it was also the one-year anniversary of their meeting.

Gabriella was in her room getting ready. Troy would pick her u pin an hour for the party, and he wanted to look perfect because she had a surprise for Troy. Everyone decided that they'd get ready in their respective homes, and then they'd all meet at the Evans' at nine.

Sharpay had gone all out with this party, too. The pool house was completely revamped to look like a winter wonderland. Let's just say, there was a lot of blue and white involved.

Gabriella spent a whole day trying to pick out the perfect dress for this party. She had gone to the mall and searched almost store, and when she finally found it, she knew it was perfect. After taking a shower and applying simple makeup, Gabriella rearranged her hair. She made sure that it was wavy as opposed to extremely wavy, and she then put I half up, half down. Gabriella then put on the black dress. The dress was strapless and reached just above her knees. It hugged her curves perfectly and it had a woven silver pattern both above and below the chest. She also put on her silver high-heeled shoes, and to finish off the look, Gabriella put on the black and white diamond necklace that her mother had given to her for her birthday as well as a plain silver ring that said 'LOVE' with a diamond in place of the 'O' and the other letter carved out that Troy had given to her for her birthday. **(pic in profile, imagine Gabriella wearing the same exact thing only with her hair differently)**

True to his word, Troy rang the doorbell at eight forty-five. When he saw Gabriella, he slowly breathed in. "You and I are so sharing a bedroom later," he whispered as he kissed the side of her head. The gang decided that since it would be late once the party was over, they would just sleep over Sharpay's house.

Before the two left, Gabriella's mom bombarded them with the photo camera and video camera. "Oh, come on, I'm sure that one day you'll want to show this to your children, and -" her mother began but was cut off by "MOM!" Maria just looked at them with a look that said "Oh, please, you both know that's what's gonna happen."

After twenty minutes Gabriella insisted that they leave since they were already late. Maria finally let them go as she realized that they were in fact late.

Once Troy and Gabriella were out the door, Troy opened the car door for Gabriella and then went over to his own side of the car. The drive to Sharpay's was filed with a comfortable silence with the two holding hands as Troy drove.

We finally arrived five minutes later and the girls dramatically exclaimed once Troy and I walked in. Sharpay exclaimed, "Ah, I see Troyella finally decided to show."

Troy and I merely laughed. We didn't take the joined name seriously. "Troy," Taylor began, "we need to steal her away for a minute."

Troy nodded, but replied, "Ok, but you better give her back." As the girls walked over to one side of the room, Troy walked over to the boys.

"So, when will you surprise him?" asked an anxious Kelsi, she had helped Gabi with Troy's surprise.

"I'm thinking about ten minutes to midnight," Gabriella replied excitedly.

"Perfect," the girls responded simultaneously.

As the music began playing, each couple went onto the dance floor and started the fun that would New Year's Eve.

Two and a half hours had been spent by dancing with Troy as well as the boys and the girls. Everyone had a blast, and couldn't wait for the fun to continue. It was finally time for Gabriella's surprise. She acted as if nothing was up, however, and remained in Troy's firm grasp.

Sharpay walked up onto the stage. "As we say goodbye to 2008, we remember the past and thank the people in our lives. We've got a very special thank you tonight. Our very own Gabriella Montez, ladies and gentleman."

The room that had slowly gotten packed with other kids from school filled with applause as Gabriella pecked a confused Troy on the lips and she and Kelsi made their ways onto the stage. Kelsi took her place at the piano while Gabriella took her guitar and walked to the microphone.

"I was going through a bit of a rough patch a couple weeks ago, and one person was able to reassure me like no one else could. I thank him for all he's given me, and I say happy one-year anniversary, baby. You inspired me to write this song, and I hope you like it. I love you, Troy," Gabriella said meaningfully as the room filled with whistles as Kelsi began playing the piano. Gabriella then began playing the guitar and began singing.

I can almost see it  
That dream I'm dreaming but  
There's a voice inside my head sayin,  
You'll never reach it,

Every step I'm taking,  
Every move I make feels  
Lost with no direction  
My faith is shaking but I  
Got to keep trying  
Got to keep my head held high

Gabriella looked up and her eyes locked with Troy's.

There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always going to want to make it move

Always going to be an uphill battle,

Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,

Ain't about how fast I get there,

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

Troy had a wide smile on his face as he watched his girlfriend sing her heart out.

The struggles I'm facing,  
The chances I'm taking  
Sometimes they knock me down but  
No I'm not breaking  
I may not know it  
But these are the moments that  
I'm going to remember most yeah  
Just got to keep going  
And I,  
I got to be strong  
Just keep pushing on, cause

There's always going to be another mountain  
I'm always going to want to make it move  
Always going to be an uphill battle,  
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,  
Ain't about how fast I get there,  
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side  
It's the climb

There's always going to be another mountain  
I'm always going to want to make it move  
Always going to be an uphill battle,  
Sometimes you going to have to lose,  
Ain't about how fast I get there,  
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side  
It's the climb

Throughout the whole song, the two never lost eye contact, and Troy saw the meaning behind the song. Gabriella put force into the last few lines of the song as well because that's how she felt her heart was exclaiming those exact words to her.

Keep on moving  
Keep climbing  
Keep the faith baby  
It's all about  
It's all about  
The climb  
Keep the faith  
Keep your faith

Whoa a oh oh

As Gabriella finished the song, the whole room broke out in cheers as she put down the guitar and smiled at everyone. She then felt Troy's strong arms embrace her, and before they knew it, they were locked in a passionate kiss.

The room cheered even more at this. When the two broke apart they smiled at each other. They hugged, and Troy whispered, "I'm so proud of you, Brie." The two then got off the stage and joined the rest of the gang. Everyone gave Gabriella hugs and told her how much they loved her song. Sharpay and Taylor even had tears in their eyes at the meaning.

The count down then started, and each girl was wrapped in her boyfriend's embrace. As they rang in the New Year (2009), Troy and Gabriella were in their own little world. Everyone was dancing and Troy and Gabriella danced to the song as they were kissing. Their makeout session lasted longer than they intended.

"Happy New Year, Brie. I love you," Troy smiled.

"Happy New Year, I love you too, Troy, so much," Gabriella declared passionately and happily.

They shared another kiss, this one only lasting about half a minute.

"Now about that room," Gabriella grinned mischievously as Troy looked at her with raised eyebrows. This was definitely one of the greatest nights of his life.

**A/N: And there it is. I don't know if it's really any good, but it's just something that came to mind when I was listening to Miley Cyrus's "The Climb." I'm not a big fan of her, but I think that song is AMAZING! So, please let me know what you think with REVIEW! Love you guys!**


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